{"id":34472,"date":"2021-11-15T17:00:28","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T17:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=34472"},"modified":"2021-11-16T15:10:45","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T15:10:45","slug":"6k-additive-freemelt-refractory-metal-3d-printing-powders-151120216","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/6k-additive-freemelt-refractory-metal-3d-printing-powders-151120216\/","title":{"rendered":"6K Additive &#038; Freemelt Partner On Refractory Metal 3D Printing Powders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">6K Additive is a division of 6K Inc. and a global leader in the production of sustainable advanced materials for additive manufacturing. Recently, the company announced the commercial availability of refractory AM metal powders including tungsten, rhenium, and niobium-based powders. These are used in fields such as defence, aerospace and medical industries because of their high-temperature resistance and high-strength applications. Now 6K Additive has entered a strategic partnered with high-tech Swedish firm Freemelt in order to leverage the company&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/expert-advice-powder-bed-fusion-for-business-010220214\/\">Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion<\/a> (E-PBF) printer platform that enables advanced additive manufacturing applications.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this partnership, 6K Additive brings the production expertise and ability to produce <span class=\"il\">refractory<\/span> performance powders at scale, whereas Freemelt&#8217;s printing solutions can meet the high-performance demands of manufacturing sectors like <a href=\"http:\/\/6K Additive is a division of 6K Inc. and a global leader in the production of sustainable advanced materials for additive manufacturing. Recently, the company announced the commercial availability of refractory AM metal powders including tungsten, rhenium, and niobium-based powders used. These are used in fields such as defence, aerospace and medical industries because of their high-temperature resistance and high-strength applications. Now 6K Additive has entered a strategic partnered with high-tech Swedish firm Freemelt in order to leverage the company's Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (E-PBF) printer platform that enables advanced additive manufacturing applications. In this partnership, 6K Additive brings the production expertise and ability to produce refractory performance powders at scale, whereas Freemelt's printing solutions can meet the high-performance demands of manufacturing sectors like hypersonic and medical. Dr. Ulric Ljungblad, CEO of Freemelt stated, \u201cThe market is consistently asking us for performance materials and partnering with 6K Additive gives us and our customers a material supplier that not only delivers high-quality metal powder but is quickly commercializing the sought-after performance materials like tungsten and other refractory metals. The new partnership helps us and them push the limits of what\u2019s possible with 3D printing.\u201d Refractory Metal AM Powders Sectors such as aerospace require performance refractory\u00a0materials such as tungsten to withstand the extreme temperatures, forces due to speed, shifting directions and altitude dynamics. What do you think of this new partnership between 6K Additive &amp; Freemelt? Let us know in a comment below or on our Linkedin,\u00a0Facebook,\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter\u00a0pages! Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly\u00a0Newsletter here, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our\u00a0YouTube\u00a0channel. Photo Credits: 6K Additive\">hypersonic<\/a> and medical. Dr. Ulric Ljungblad, CEO of Freemelt stated, \u201c<em>The market is consistently asking us for performance materials and partnering with 6K Additive gives us and our customers a material supplier that not only delivers high-quality metal powder but is quickly commercializing the sought-after performance materials like tungsten and other refractory metals.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-34475 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Joker-2.jpg\" alt=\"6K Additive &amp; Freemelt Partnership\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Joker-2.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Joker-2-600x343.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Joker-2-160x91.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-refractory-metal-am-powders\">Refractory Metal AM Powders<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With their melting points above 2000 \u00b0C, refractory metals are a scientific classification of metals. Characteristically, these metals hold exceptional resistance to heat and deformation. The five elements traditionally defined as refractory metals are niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, rhenium, and tungsten. Also, these metals are chemically inert and have a relatively high density. Additive manufacturing materials such as tungsten, rhenium, and niobium-based powders used in the defense, aerospace, and medical sectors are sought after for these materials&#8217; high-temperature, high-strength applications.<\/p><div class=\"dnati-inside-article-leaderboard\" style=\"text-align: center;\" id=\"dnati-3168744288\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/eu.snapmaker.com\/products\/snapmaker-u1-3d-printer?utm_source=3dnatives&#038;utm_medium=pr&#038;utm_campaign=u1launch2025&#038;utm_content=u1preorder\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"850 x 150px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/850-x-150px-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/850-x-150px-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/850-x-150px-600x106.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/850-x-150px-1200x212.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/850-x-150px-768x136.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/850-x-150px-1536x271.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/850-x-150px-2048x361.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/850-x-150px-160x28.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" width=\"850\" height=\"150\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">6K Additive&#8217;s two UniMelt microwave plasma systems, which were installed in their Pennsylvania facility earlier this year, paved the way for the company to production high volumes for many of the refractory powders. \u201c<em>Since the commercial launch of\u00a0<span class=\"il\">refractory<\/span>\u00a0metal powder we\u2019ve seen a ton of interest in\u00a0<span class=\"il\">refractories<\/span>\u00a0specifically tungsten,<\/em>\u201d explains Frank Roberts, president of 6K Additive. \u201c<em>Freemelt is an organization that prides itself on working with the market for parameter development on their platform to help customers push the capabilities of 3D printing for applications that require high-performance parts and materials like tungsten.<\/em>\u201d With Freemelt&#8217;s recent announcements for global expansion and big new contracts including with the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and the Polytechnic University of Turin in Italy, overall this strategic partnership remains one to watch. Learn more about this partnership <a href=\"https:\/\/www.6kinc.com\/about\/news\/news\/press-release\/6k-additive-and-freemelt-establish-strategic-partnership-to-develop-and-commercialize-refractory-metal-powder-for-the-freemelt-3d-printer-platform\/\">HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-34476 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Venetian.jpg\" alt=\"6K Additive &amp; Freemelt Partnership\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Venetian.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Venetian-600x343.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Venetian-160x91.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What do you think of this new partnership between 6K Additive &amp; Freemelt? Let us know in a comment below or on our <a class=\"c-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/4987104\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/4987104\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" data-remove-tab-index=\"true\">Linkedin<\/a>,\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/3Dnatives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/3Dnatives\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" data-remove-tab-index=\"true\">Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/3Dnatives_en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/3Dnatives_en\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" data-remove-tab-index=\"true\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0pages! Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printing-newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printing-newsletter\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" data-remove-tab-index=\"true\">Newsletter here<\/a>, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCMWrNpdLOXa7BffRKXZoaZw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCMWrNpdLOXa7BffRKXZoaZw\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" data-remove-tab-index=\"true\">YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/p>\n<p><em>Photo Credits: 6K Additive<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>6K Additive is a division of 6K Inc. and a global leader in the production of sustainable advanced materials for additive manufacturing. Recently, the company announced the commercial availability of refractory AM metal powders including tungsten, rhenium, and niobium-based powders.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6083,"featured_media":34474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3d-materials","category-business","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6083"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34472"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34557,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34472\/revisions\/34557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}